Indian Paralympic Sheetal Devi turned impossible into ‘I’m Possible’ as a video was posted of her driving a car with her feet. The specially built Scorpio N was gifted to her by Mahindra Group’s Chairman, Anand Mahindra, after the archer turned 18. Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, the video of her driving’s caption read, “Took on the driver’s seat for a while, loving every moment of it. Never say NEVER”. The video has gone viral on social media, with Instagram users praising her for her resilience.
Sheetal Devi created headlines by scoring 703 out of 720 points in the women’s individual compound archery ranking round, winning the bronze medal at the Paris Paralympic 2024.
Who is Sheetal Devi?
Sheetal Devi was born with phocomelia, a rare medical condition due to which she does not have arms. From her childhood days, Sheetal Devi showed incredible athletic talent, and her medical limitations only made her more determined and focused to succeed in her field. In her early days in para archery, her coaches tried to help her with prosthetics, but that didn’t work for her. Without giving up hope, the coaches came across Matt Stutzman, an archer born without arms, who made headlines at the London 2012 Paralympics by using his legs to shoot his way to a silver medal. Modelled on his technique, Sheetal Devi grew from strength to strength by opting for the unique technique of shooting by using her legs and jaw.
2023 was the turning point for Sheetal Devi as she became the world’s number one para archer in the open category, followed by two golds and one silver in the Asian Para Games 2023, silver in World Archery Para Championships 2023 and then a bronze medal in the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
Paralympians honoured by Mahindra
Mahindra & Mahindra have honoured many Paralympic athletes, including Avani Lekhara for winning gold Women’s 10m Air Rifle and bronze in the 50m Air Rifle Paralympic Games and Sumit Antil, for bagging gold at the Tokyo 2020. The Indian four-wheeler company also gifted honoured Paralympian Deepa Malik a customised XUV700. XUV700 was modified with an electronically controlled swivelling front seat and hand control brakes and accelerator on the steering wheel.